Without limiting the scope of the invention, its background is described in connection with treatments for glaucoma.
Primary open angle glaucoma, a major cause of irreversible blindness, is often associated with elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) due to increased aqueous humor outflow resistance at the trabecular meshwork (TM). The pathological mechanisms leading to increased outflow resistance and IOP elevation are poorly understood.
Although the major pathology lies in the trabecular meshwork (increased outflow resistance elevates IOP in glaucoma), most current glaucoma treatments reduce IOP by reducing aqueous humor production by acting on ciliary body. In addition, these glaucoma treatments do not prevent blindness but merely halt progression of disease to some extent. Most glaucoma patients must undergo surgical procedures to reduce elevated IOP, which becomes expensive. Developing targeted treatments based on the understanding of TM pathology may improve clinical outcome and cure disease.